Online social network services provide members with a mechanism for defining, and memorializing in a digital format, representations of themselves (e.g., member profiles) and their relationships with other people. This digital representation of relationships between members is frequently referred to as a social graph. Many social network services utilize a social graph to facilitate electronic communications and the sharing of information between its users or members. For instance, the relationship between two members of a social network service, as defined in the social graph of the social network service, may determine the access and sharing privileges that exist between the two members. As such, the social graph in use by a social network service may determine the manner in which two members of the social network service can interact with one another via the various communication and sharing mechanisms supported by the social network service.
Some social network services aim to enable friends and family to communicate and share with one another, while others are specifically directed to business users with a goal of facilitating the establishment of professional networks and the sharing of business information. For purposes of the present disclosure, the terms “social network” and “social network service” are used in a broad sense and are meant to encompass services aimed at connecting friends and family (often referred to simply as “social networks”), as well as services that are specifically directed to enabling business people to connect and share business information (also commonly referred to as “social networks” but sometimes referred to as “business networks” or “professional networks”).
With many social network services, members are prompted to provide a variety of personal information, which may be displayed in a member's personal web page. Such information is commonly referred to as “personal profile information”, or simply “profile information”, and when shown collectively, it is commonly referred to as a member's profile. For example, with some of the many social network services in use today, the personal information that is commonly requested and displayed as part of a member's profile includes a member's age (e.g., birth date), gender, contact information, home town, address, the name of the member's spouse and/or family members, a photograph of the member, interests, and so forth. With certain social network services, such as some business network services, a member's personal information may include information commonly included in a professional resume or curriculum vitae, such as information about a person's education, employment history, job skills, professional organizations, and so forth.
Some traditional social network services may behave as a searchable directory of people. In such systems, a user interface (“UI”) may be provided to a member to allow that member to search for other members of the social network to connect. For example, the member may use the UI to enter key terms or other properties in which to search a population of member profiles. Based on the search result, the member may search through the member profiles matching the search criteria to identify member profiles that are of interest. Thus, traditional systems may rely on knowledge and actions from the searching member to identify member profiles that are of interest.